The purpose of this course is to gain an insight into deviancy, crime and punishment in Australia, and to develop an understanding of key issues relating to the study of deviancy and crime from a criminological perspective.

The course will begin by examining how deviancy and crime is socially constructed and the different theoretical perspectives that have been developed to account for how crime and deviancy can be explained. This will be followed by an exploration of crime statistics and society’s fear of crime. The final part of the course will look at the administrative structure of the Australian justice system (police, courts and prisons) and explore how the justice system impacts on youth, women, immigrants and indigenous Australians.

By successfully completing this course unit students will have:

1. Developed an understanding of the social construction of deviance and crime
2. Acquired the necessary skills to source data and research publications on crime and justice, and interpret that information appropriately
3. The analytical skills required to think critically about rates of crime and the dimensions of crime
4. The ability to think critically about theories and explanations of crime causation
5. An insight into how society responds to deviance and crime
6. An understanding of the impacts of the criminal justice system across different community groups

Research essay (2500 words – 45%) [Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 5]

Synoptic Essay(2000 words – 45%) [Outcomes 3, 4, 6]

Tutorial participation  (10%) [Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6]

26 hours of lectures over 13 weeks

12 hours of tutorial over 13 weeks

12 units of first year courses (in any discipline) or with the permission of the lecturer

Whilst this course will build on student’s understandings of social issues, it will be assumed that students do not have any prior knowledge in the area of crime or punishment.

Recommended textbook: Hayes, H. & Prenzler, T. (2009) An introduction to Crime and criminology, 2^nd edition, Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia

Wattle access